Bill would require police to record interrogations of murder suspects

Randy Ludlow The Columbus Dispatch @RandyLudlow

Tuesday

Jun 18, 2019 at 11:40 AM

COLUMBUS Seeking to prevent and detect false and coerced confessions, two Ohio lawmakers have introduced a bill to require police agencies to record interrogations of murder and sexual assault suspects.

Reps. Phil Plummer, R-Dayton, and Thomas West, D-Canton, said the bipartisan measure to require mandatory audio or video recording would benefit both suspects and police officers.

"We need a transparent and accountable justice system from start to finish," West said, adding an objective record would protect officers and suspects from false claims of misconduct.

"We want to get this right," said Plummer, a former Montgomery County sheriff. "We don't want to send innocent people to prison."

Federal law enforcement agencies are required to record interrogations, and many Ohio police agencies already follow the practice, the lawmakers said. The bill would ensure that jurors are allowed to see and judge the conduct of both officers and suspects during questioning, they said.

The University of Cincinnati found 52 percent of the police agencies it surveyed have written policies requiring recordings, said Pierce Reed, policy coordinator for the Ohio Innocence Project at Cincinnati Law.

While most police agencies do not deliberately cross the line to abusive or coercive interrogations of murder suspects and others, House Bill 277 would help guard against wrongful convictions, he said.

Clarence Elkins served six years in prison after being wrongfully convicted in Summit County in 1999 of the murder of his 68-year-old mother-in-law and the rape of his 6-year-old niece. DNA evidence ultimately led to his exoneration and the conviction of another man.

A recording of his questioning by detectives would have "been helpful in my case," Elkins said. "This would safeguard both sides of the table."

Robert McClendon, who spent 18 years in prison for the rape of a Columbus girl he did not commit before being cleared by DNA testing, also called for passage of the measure.

The Office of the Ohio Public Defender also is asking lawmakers to approve the proposal.

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